


Time to Say Goodbye

by FandomLastsForever



Series: Nuts & Dolts Week [5]
Category: RWBY
Genre: Afterlife, Angst, F/F, Grief/Mourning, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Loss, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Spoilers: Volume 3 (RWBY), Volume 3 (RWBY)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-03
Updated: 2017-11-03
Packaged: 2019-01-28 18:05:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,613
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12612328
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FandomLastsForever/pseuds/FandomLastsForever
Summary: Ruby and the others are leaving to find answers. And Ruby takes a moment to say goodbye.





	Time to Say Goodbye

**Author's Note:**

> Nuts and Dolts Week Day 5: Loss/Angst

The snow fell slowly as she walked down the path toward the cliffside. She hadn't been there to visit her mother since the start of the festival. So much had happened, she hadn't had the chance. And now, as she prepared to head out with her friends to find answers to why Remnant was suffering, Ruby couldn't help but feel like this might be the last time.

_What to say? What to do? Where will I go? What more will I lose?_

So many thought ran through her mind as she looked down at her mother's grave marker. 

"Hey mom," Ruby said softly. "Sorry I haven't been here in awhile. I've been recovering from...a lot. I'm pretty sure dad and uncle Qrow told you about Yang. And about me. So much has happened, and I don't have a lot of time to explain. But...you do deserve a quick summary at least."

Ruby could feel the empathetic eyes of her friends watching her as she spoke. Jaune's gentle blue were cold and listless. He was still reeling from the events of Beacon. They all were. Nora looked paler, and Ren seemed to slouch a bit more. Losing Pyrrha took a toll on all of the remnants of JNPR. She felt her loss greatly too. Pyrrha was a good friend and mentor Ruby looked up to.

_Maybe that's a good place to start?_

"We lost our friend Pyrrha. She died in an attempt to help stop the bad guys. She was a lot like you. She was smart, strong, kind. An amazing fighter with an incredible Semblance-"

_"It looks like our first contender is-"_

Ruby shook her head, trying to push the thoughts away. She had to remain calm. She couldn't dwell on it. Not now. She had a job to do.

"We're going to look for her killer," Ruby said solemnly. "They made Pyrrha do something terrible before she died. And Pyrrha felt so horrible about it, she was frozen in place. They made her...they made her kill an innocent girl. Someone that we all cared about very much..."

_"PENNY POLENDINA FROM ATLAS!"_

"Someone _I_ cared about..."

Ruby closed her eyes, trying to keep from crying. She couldn't afford to cry right now. She had to hold back until the job was done. The world needs her now.

"Penny was someone really special. She wasn't like other girls. She was made of metal. But she was my friend. We didn't know each other for very long, and I didn't get to spend as much time with her as I wanted. But the time I did spend with her is precious to me. I loved her very much. Not like I love my friends, and not like I love you, or Yang, or Dad and Uncle Qrow. I think...I think I loved her like you and dad loved each other."

_"And her opponent will be...PYRRHA NIKOS FROM BEACON!"_

_Stop it Ruby. You can't think about that right now. Stop thinking about it. Stop it. Stop it. Stop!_

"But Pyrrha didn't mean to kill Penny," Ruby continued. "She was a good person, and she fought valiantly. Both of them were amazing. And I..."

_"Ooh, polarity versus metal. That could be bad."_

"I wasn't fast enough to save them. I wasn't fast enough to save Pyrrha. I wasn't there to save Penny. I couldn't help Yang, and I couldn't stop Weiss from being taken, and I couldn't ask Blake to stay. All of my friends have either been taken from me, or they ran away."

Ruby bit her lip hard, trying to get the headache to keep away from her. She wasn't ready to face it. She didn't have time to try and figure out what happened. She didn't have time to mourn her losses.

_Stop it, Ruby! It's not just about you!_

"We all lost someone at Beacon," she muttered. "We lost so many friends and teachers...so many people...But we have a lead on who did it. And we're going to go find them." Ruby tightened the grip on her bag. "I don't know how long this will take. A few weeks maybe? I don't know. But we have to go. We have to stop them."

_It's not fair. It's not fair!_

"We're the only ones who can."

_Why did Penny have to be taken like that?! It's not fair! Pyrrha didn't deserve this! Penny didn't deserve this! Bring them back! Give them back to me dammit!_

_"Easy, Ruby. Easy."_

Ruby nearly fell back at the sound of the voice. She recognized it. She knew who it was. So sweet, like cotton candy. Fresh as the bright spring grass.

"Penny..."

_"It'll be okay. We'll be fine. You do what you must. Just be careful okay?"_

"Pyrrha..."

Ruby smiled, standing upright with newfound determination.

"I don't know if I'll be back anytime soon," Ruby sighed. "But Mom, please watch over my friends and I. And please, look after Penny and Pyrrha. We'll all see each other again someday, but until then, please look after them. And tell them I'll do my best to look after our friends here."

That's right. I'll look after them. And they'll look after me. We'll take care of each other. It's what they'd want.

"Goodbye mom. Goodbye Pyrrha. Goodbye...Penny..."

_"Goodbye Ruby. I love you."_

"I love you too, Penny..."

Ruby turned around to face Jaune, Nora, and Ren. The three of them smiled at her, ready to head out to face the dangers Remnant had to throw at them.

She turned away from the cliff, and the four of them departed.

 

* * *

 

 

Penny awoke in complete darkness, surrounded by blurred silhouettes of people she didn't know. There were shouts and screams echoing all around her. She couldn't see where they were coming from. But she could sense it.

_"It's not fair. It's not fair!"_

"Ruby?" she called. "Ruby, is that you?"

Penny stood upright and began to wander around the void she found herself in. The shouts repeated over and over, growing louder as she walked on. There closer to the noise she got, the more silhouettes began to come into focus. While there were people she didn't recognize, there were others who were dressed in Atlesian Military uniforms and armor. One of them was a Captain she'd seen talking with General Ironwood every so often. If Penny remembered right, he was related to one of her former teammates, but she'd have to ask to make sure.

**_"Penny? Is that you?"_ **

Penny looked around, startled that someone might recognize her. It took a moment, but she found who it was addressing her. It was a girl she'd met only once. A girl with fiery red hair, vibrant green eyes, and a tall stature.

"Pyrrha Nikos?" Penny asked softly.

"It is you," Pyrrha gasped.

The two girls ran over to each other, taking each other's hands. Pyrrha's eyes were filled with tears, and her body was shaking.

"I'm so sorry, Penny," she whimpered. "It's all my fault you-"

"It's okay," Penny assured. "It wasn't your fault. You didn't know. Not a lot of people did."

Pyrrha looked at her, perplexed. "You're not angry at me for killing you?"

"No! It wasn't your fault, Pyrrha. I could never be angry at you for this." She looked around, wondering if they were the only students from the finals to make it there. "Have you seen Ruby?"

"No," Pyrrha said. "But I thought I heard her voice.

_"Pyrrha didn't deserve this! Penny didn't deserve this! Bring them back! Give them back to me dammit!"_

"There it is again," Penny gasped. The two of them scanned the area until they saw a bright silver outline in the far back. They ran toward it, reaching for it as the screams repeated over and over.

**_"Stop it Ruby. You can't think about that right now. Stop thinking about it. Stop it. Stop it. Stop! Stop it, Ruby! It's not just about you! It's not fair. It's not fair! Pyrrha didn't deserve this! Penny didn't deserve this! Bring them back! Give them back to me dammit!"_ **

_Ruby._

Penny and Pyrrha threw their arms around the silver silhouette, hugging tightly so that it would disappear. Over and over the screams repeated and echoed, morphed and glitched.

_"Give them back to me dammit!"_

"Easy, Ruby," Penny said softly. "Easy."

The shouting halted, replaced by gentle echoes of soothing music and declarations of intent.

_"...I think I loved her like you and dad loved each other."_

_"... good person, and she fought valiantly. Both of them were amazing."_

_"... have to stop them. We're the only ones who can."_

_"Penny..."_

"It'll be okay," Pyrrha said. "We'll be fine. You do what you must. Just be careful okay?"

_"Pyrrha..."_

A gentle warmth enveloped them both for a moment while a pair of arms wrapped around the two girls. The shape of Ruby began to fade away as light began to fill the void. There was a feeling of being complete sweeping through Penny's entire body.

_"Goodbye mom. Goodbye Pyrrha. Goodbye...Penny..."_

"Goodbye Ruby," Penny said softly. "I love you."

_"I love you too, Penny."_

And with that last word, the silver figure vanished, replaced by a woman who was the spitting image of Ruby. Or perhaps it was the other way around. Penny couldn't tell. And she wasn't ready to try and figure it out yet.

"Welcome," the Ruby clone said. "I think it's time you and I have a chat. Come with me."

Penny and Pyrrha looked at each other for a moment before nodding in solidarity. Hand in hand, they followed their new acquaintance into the unknown.


End file.
